Claude Rye
{{Short description|British speedway rider}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox Speedway rider
| name = Claude Rye
| image = File:Claude_Rye_motorcycle_speedway_rider_cigarette_card.png
| nationality = British (English)
| birth_date = {{birth-date|13 January 1908}}
| birth_place = Fulham, London, England
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1988|10|18|1908|1|13|df=y}}
| death_place =
| career1 = Preston
| years1 = 1929–1930
| career2 = Wimbledon Dons
| years2 = 1931–1937
| indivyear1 = 1933
| indivhonour1 = Dirt Track Championnat du Monde
| indivyear2 =
| indivhonour2 =
| teamyear1 = 1929
| teamhonour1 = English Dirt Track KO Cup Winner
}}
Arthur Claude Rye known as Claude Rye (13 January 1908 – 18 October 1988) was an international speedway rider from England.{{cite web |url=http://www.guskuhn.net/GKuhn/Contemp/ClaudeRye.htm|title=Claude Rye|website=Gus Kuhn|access-date=22 August 2021}} He earned four international caps for the England national speedway team.{{cite web |url=https://britishspeedway.co.uk/docs/Ultimate_Index_1929-2022.pdf |title=ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022 |website=British Speedway |access-date=28 December 2023}}
Speedway career
Rye came to prominence in 1929 after gaining a two-year contract with Preston (speedway) and then joined Wimbledon Dons in 1931.{{cite news |title=The Advance of Rye|work=Lancashire Evening Post |date=2 August 1930 |access-date=22 August 2021 |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000711/19300802/282/0009| via = British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription }}
In 1933, he won the Dirt Track Championnat du Monde (an early version of the Speedway World Championship and rival of the Star Riders' Championship) at Stade Buffalo in Paris during 1933. However it was also during 1933 that he broke a leg in his first Test appearance for England.
He became the captain of Wimbledon{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000053/19341024/181/0004 |title=Claude Rye |website=The Era |date=24 October 1934 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |access-date=5 October 2024 }} and finished second in the league averages during the 1933 Speedway National League.{{cite web |url=https://www.speedwayresearcher.org.uk/yearbyyear.html|title=Year by Year|website=Speedway Researcher|access-date=22 August 2021}} He competed in the 1934 Star Riders' Championship and went on to represent England against the United States and Australia.
Personal life
Film appearance
The speedway scenes from the 1933 film Britannia of Billingsgate were shot at Hackney Wick Stadium and featured some of the leading riders in Britain at the time including Rye, Colin Watson, Arthur Warwick, Gus Kuhn, Tom Farndon and Ron Johnson.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCoJpvyb4eU|title=Britannia Of Billingsgate (1933)|website=YouTube|access-date=22 August 2021}}
Players cigarette cards
Rye is listed as number 39 of 50 in the 1930s Player's cigarette card collection.{{cite web |url=http://www.speedwaymuseumonline.co.uk/playerscigarettecards8.html|title=Speedway Riders, 39 Claude Rye (Wimbledon)|website=Speedway Museum|access-date=22 August 2021}}
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rye, Claude}}
Category:British speedway riders